HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a one-month warning to hundreds of thousands of tax credits customers ahead of an urgent deadline.
Customers have until July 31 to renew their claim or risk losing out on their payments. According to the government department, more than 300,000 customers who received a renewal pack with a red line across the first page still need to confirm their circumstances for the current tax year.
The department sends out these renewal packs as an individual's circumstances can change which may affect their tax credits payments. Such changes can include living arrangements, childcare, working hours, or changes to income.
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Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director-General for Customer Services, said: "Please act now to meet the 31 July deadline for renewing your tax credits or your payments could stop. There is no need to call us, it is quick and easy to renew via GOV.UK or the HMRC app. For details on how to renew, search ‘manage my tax credits’ on GOV.UK."
Tax credit customers should not ignore any letter from HMRC, especially since they will soon be replaced by Universal Credit by the end of 2024. Customers who receive tax credits will receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to inform them when they can claim Universal Credit.
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Two types of renewal packs were sent out by HMRC to 1.5 million customers between May 2 and June 15, 2023. These include:
- ‘Reply now’ packs had a red line across the first page and the words ‘reply now’. Customers must confirm their circumstances to renew their tax credits
- ‘Check now’ packs had a black line across the first page and the words ‘check now.’ Customers whose details are correct do not need to do anything and their tax credits will be automatically renewed
